Inca Trail & The Amazon Rainforest: Peru Trekking Holiday

Our Clients’ Reviews

Here at Exodus we thrive on feedback from our customers. It's the only way we can ensure our trips continue to be the best they can be. So, for the real tales, twists and turns of the trip you're interested in, look no further than the reviews from our previous travellers. Any feedback collected (Good or bad) from Exodus clients is posted straight onto our website - totally unedited. Read more...

Average Review Rating: from 72 reviews.

Jessica Paine

INCA TRAIL & THE AMAZON RAINFOREST

Written April 2008
This was a fantastic trip!
Read full review
What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
The amazon was amazing and so much better than expected!
What did you think of your group leader?
I was slightly disappointed with our group leader. She joined us in the Amazon and did not introduce herself to us even when we were all sat at the same table for dinner! I suspect this was her first trip as a leader and I, along with many of the others, would have been much more obliging if we'd been told this from the start.
Having both a group leader and a local guide seemed a bit excessive. The local guides were really good but whilst they were with us there was no real role for the group leader. I felt that the only purpose of the group leader was to collect tips for everyone!
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Take plently of bug repellent
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Lake Titicaca was beautiful and lovely to experience, however, it's such a shame it has become a high tourist area. You don't really get to experience and appreciate the reid islands as they should be.
Exodus Response
Hi Jessica,

Thanks for taking the time to post your review on the website. I'm glad that you enjoyed your holiday, and particularly liked the Amazon rainforest. With regard to your comments on the reed islands, the Uros Indians have become increasingly marginalized over the 20-30 years, and are only able to survive on the income provided by tourism. By visiting the islands on our trips, we help to keep them in their homes on the reed islands - if tourism to the islands dried up, they would be forced to move to the nearby towns of Puno and Juliaca and lose their cultural identities by becoming part of mainstream Peruvian society.

I was surprised to read your comments about the tour leader - Hilda has run many trips for us over the last few years, and we generally receive very positive feedback about her services, but I will forward your comments on to our local operator so they are also aware.

The local guides and the tour leader provide very different functions on our trips - the guides are experts in their areas and can therefore provide the best information possible about a particular destination, but the tour leader is used as a point of contact for the group who assists in the general organisation and planning, as well as being available 24 hours a day in case of any problems or emergencies which may arise. The leaders we employ in Peru are far better trained than local guides in first-aid and emergency situations, and we therefore feel it is vital to use a combination of both. Fortunately, as your trip ran very smoothly, Hilda did not need to put these skills into practice.

Thanks again for your comments – feedback from our clients is very useful for us in monitoring and improving our trips.

Yours,
Tim (Exodus trip manager)
- Exodus Staff
Averil Lockhart

INCA TRAIL & THE AMAZON RAINFOREST

Written January 2008
Two weeks is very little time to see the wonders of Peru. This short trip manages to successfully combine 3 distinctly different aspects - the Amazon jungle, the Inca trail and lake Titicaca. An exhausting but exhilarating combination! This is a great trip to do if you can only get away for a couple of weeks.
Read full review
What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
The most inspirational moment of my trip was the first glimpse of Machu Picchu on the final day of the Inca Trail - it was a hard trek but so worth it! Soaking in the hot waters of the spa afterwards was sublime and dinner with Chilean wine that evening in the camp ended a perfect day.
Learning about the way of life of the reed islanders on Lake Titicaca was fascinating and like nothing I had ever encountered before.
What did you think of your group leader?
Juan-Manuel was professional, incredibly knowledgable and well-organised. He was also fun.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
The Inca Trail does require a certain level of fitness. Even climbing stairs frequently prior to departure would help.
Take clothes which cover your arms/legs for the Amazon - there are lots of bugs! A head torch is helpful for camping and for the jungle.
The majority of my group got diarrhoea and sickness - I used Biocare's Travelguard during the trip and probiotics prior to departure and during the trip. This helps fortify the digestive tract - I didn't get so ill as the rest of the group!
Jennifer Woodcock

Great times in Peru

Written November 2007
What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
The most inspirational part of the trip was without a doubt the Inca trail with the final day at Macchu Picchu. The four day walk is so exhilarating with four different days walking with such different scenery and environment. Machu Picchu was just like the photos - no disappointment at all !
Read full review
What did you think of your group leader?
Briiliant. Very helpful and enthusiatic. Helped make the holiday
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Take plenty of long sleeve tops and trousers for the rainforest.
Polly Evernden

They don't call it Dead Woman's Pass for nothing! :)

Written September 2007
What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?

I really enjoyed the Inca trail. The views are spectacular throughout and the service you are provided with is excellent. It is a bit of a slog up to the infamous pass, but it is absolutely worth it. The scale of the mountains is incredible and you do feel thrilled when you get your first glimpse of Machu Pichu.

Read full review
What did you think of your group leader?
As usual , the leader was knowledgeable and very capable. On the trail, he set the right pace and was encouraging and friendly throughout.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Take walking poles if you, like me, are prone to knee problems.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
This trip is full of variety and well-managed at each stage. The jungle lodge is really lovely and we saw a good variety of animals and birds. There is quite a lot of tipping to be done on this trip so be prepared.
Martin Grace

Unforgettable but exhausting!

Written September 2007
What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Fantastic Andean mountain scenery from the Inca Trail: views only accessible by walking.
Read full review
What did you think of your group leader?
Experienced and enthusiastic, genuinely helpful.
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Despite its classification, walking the Inca Trail is hard. This is particularly so on the second day, when a relentless climb of 1200 metres to 4200metres altitude and only 60% of the normal oxgen levels will sort you out if you're not fit! A pair of trekking poles is essential (a single one does not give you the balance and support you need). Remember to take rubber tips for the poles as these are required for the Trail.
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Acclimatisation to altitude was an issue. We flew from Rainforest at low altitude straight to Cusco at 3250m, which was not a problem in itself, but we had insufficient acclimatisation time in Cusco (36 hours) before starting the Trail. We could have done with another 24 hours at least, particularly as Cusco is a very interesting city and we did not get the chance to explore it (not helped by a delayed flight which cost us the afternoon that we should have had available). Use your day in Cusco to do the Sacred Vally tour - well worth it for the Inca sites.
Glasses wearers beware! If you have glass lenses rather than plastic, glass becomes very brittle at altitude. I polished mine gently as I usually do (cleaning cloth, thumb one side, two fingers the other) on the third morning and one of my lenses broke straight down the middle. Exodus do say take spare glasses. You might think this is taking up unnecessary space and weight from your precious Trail allowance but be warned!
Rupert Gandy

A trip that had it all!

Written September 2007
What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?

The Inca trail - beautiful and varied and not nearly as difficult as we expected. We would recommend it to anyone in good health who exercises regularly.
Walking in the jungle, especially at night, and seeing nosey spider monkeys creeping up and touching an emerald boa in the trees - a real treat.
Our first glimpse of Macchu Picchu - beautiful, ancient and awe inspiring.
The llama!

Read full review
What did you think of your group leader?
Good - well-informed and attentive, especially when people were ill. He managed to maintain a cheerful demeanour for 15 days with very little respite from the group, not an easy job!
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Buy 10, 000 mile socks for the trek, they are comfortable and do help prevent blisters.
If travelling as a couple put half your luggage in each bag so that if one gets lost, as it did on our way out, one of you is not without vital jungle clothes for the first part of the holiday. If both get lost on the way back, as ours did, it's not so bad!
Don't travel via Atlanta - they lose things! [See above.] If flying via America ensure you have adequate time for your transfer flight as 'Homeland Security' is a nightmare.
Do take poles with rubber tips: they make walking a lot easier and steadier, especially when going downhill.
A headtorch is useful at night when walking in the jungle and when going to chemical toilets on the Inca Trail, so glad we took them.

Is there anything else you would like to add?
The only major gripe that we, and everyone else on the trip, had was the constant passing around of an envelope to tip everyone from the man who drove the boat for 3 hours to the 2 bus drivers who drove us across the Alti Plano. We had no problem whatsoever with tipping the porters or cooks on the Inca Trail who did a brilliant job, our lovely guides in the jungle or Rene our main guide but sometimes we felt like cash machines being asked to tip people who were only doing their job and with whom we had very little involvement. If this is really necessary we would rather that the cost be included in the price of the trip with the guide tipping discreetly. Rene seemed embarassed to bring up tipping as the trip went on and it really was the only fly in the ointment of an otherwise fantastic holiday.
Sarah Ward & Rupert Gandy
Frances Middleton

No pain no gain!

Written September 2007
What was the most inspirational moment of your trip?
Meeting local people, going to non-touristy spots like the local markets, staying in someone's home.
Read full review
What did you think of your group leader?
Mostly great....
Do you have any advice for potential travellers?
Be prepared for a hard slog, we thougt we were pretty fit......
Is there anything else you would like to add?
Uros Islands in Lake Titicaca a tourist trap, everyone embarressed by this experience.